Do You Really Understand Me?

Project Hail Mary is a 2021 novel written by Andy Weir.

In the near future, scientists observe the Sun dimming, coinciding with the formation of a dim infrared line from the Sun to Venus dubbed the Petrova line. As the dimming will cause a catastrophic ice age within thirty years, the world’s governments appoint former European Space Agency administrator Eva Stratt to lead a task force to solve the problem. She is given full legal immunity and almost unilateral authority. A space probe, sent to investigate Venus, discovers that alien microbes are generating the Petrova line.

Stratt appoints Ryland Grace, a junior high school teacher and infamous former molecular biologist, to study a sample from the Petrova line. He discovers that it is made up of single-celled organisms which consume electromagnetic radiation, naming it “Astrophage”.

Project Hail Mary was made into a film and was released in 2026. Here’s the movie trailer.

It stars Ryan Gosling (who also produced the film alongside Weir), Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, and Lionel Boyce. The film follows the story of Ryland Grace, a man who awakens on an interstellar spacecraft with no memory of how he came to be there.

I read the book when it came out and recently saw the movie. I thought it was a good story when I read the book but didn’t like the protagonist, Ryland Grace. In the book he was quite juvenile and obnoxious. I liked the movie better as I thought the screenplay did a better job sequencing events and telling the story. Also, Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, was a much more likeable protagonist. The cinematography, special effects, and music in the movie were superb. It’s a film best seen on the big screen.

While the main storyline is about solving the technical problem of the dying sun, there was another plotline of Ryan Grace trying to communicate with his alien counterpart who he named Rocky. AI wasn’t used as this would have been too simple a solution. Ryland Grace had to create a dictionary so he could effectively work with Rocky. Through their trials and tribulations they bonded with each other. Both made major sacrifices. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, this is a great story worth your time and money.

In the 1980s I was a communications officer in the US Air Force. Fortunately I didn’t need to keep up with Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, the communications officer in Star Trek who had to know Klingon and other alien languages. She also had exceptional hearing to listen to the nuances of these offworld languages. Uhura was played by Nichelle Nichols in the 1966 - 1969 television show and by Zoe Saldana in the 2009 film. AI and universal language translation weren’t staples in the Star Trek universe.

Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction film. The movie stars Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist engaged by the US Army to discover how to communicate with the extraterrestrials who have arrived on earth, before tensions lead to war. While there’s plenty of action filled tense moments in this movie, it’s more of a thoughtful drama than strictly a thriller. Here’s the movie trailer.

He speaks English. She speaks Mandarin. The secret to their happy marriage: Microsoft Translator.

“For many spouses, smartphone use is a point of tension. But for David Duda and Hong Liang, a couple in New Haven, Conn., the technology is so essential that they own eight external battery packs. If their phones die, so does their ability to communicate.

Mr. Duda, 62, speaks English, and Ms. Liang, 57, speaks Mandarin. They rely on a free smartphone app from Microsoft, called Translator, to render a text translation of what they say — like movie subtitles but for daily life.”

Videos:

He speaks English, She Speaks Mandarin - The New York Times

He speaks English, She speaks Mandarin - New Haven Register

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My new novel, Electromagnetic Assault, is available for purchase in all three formats:

• Print book

• ebook

• Audiobook

You can order now from Amazon.

I was a guest on the Rabbit Hole of Research Podcast Episode 55. This episode was originally supposed to air in April closer to my book launch, but world events caught up with the episodes topic, Directed Energy Weapons. The El Paso airport was shut down while Homeland Security tested a laser weapon against a Mexican drone incursion, so this episode was released on February 18th.

On Saturday, April 18th at 2:00 PM I’ll present an author talk and book signing at the Fitchburg, WI public library.

On May 1st I’ll be a speaker at the Lakefly Writers Conference and Book Fair in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. For writers my conference session is why new writers should start a Substack Email Newsletter prior to publication. For readers I’ll be selling my new book, Electromagnetic Assault at the Book Fair.